Siphon



April 1s, 1944.y

L. H. SMITH SYPHON Patented Apr. 18, 1944 SIPHON Lewis H. Smith, Cleveland, Ohio, assgnor to H. H. Pinney, Shaker Heights, Ohio Original application May 9, 1940, Serial No.

334,225. Divided and this application December 21, 1940, Serial No. 371,131

4 Claims.

The present application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 334,225 iiled May 9, 1940, for Circulating unit and relates generally to a siphon of the type used in conjunction with railroad steam locomotives Reference is `made more particularly to siphons of the type which comprise a substantially triangular at water steaming and circulating pocket the top of which opens through the crown sheet and the neck of which communicates with th barrel of the boiler.

The various elements of locomotive boilers frequently fracture due to repeated or excessive stresses which are caused by variation of temperature and by road jars. These fractures have not too infrequently appeared in the siphonic element per se and consequently one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a siphonic element of the type described which is sturdy and capable of withstanding the said stresses.

Due to the size and also due to the complications involved in the production of such siphonic elements, the cost of production of the same has heretofore been relatively high. Another of the objects of this invention has been to provide a siphonic element of the type described which can be economically produced.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims; the annexed drawing and the following description setting forth in detail certain structure embodying the invention, such disclosed structure constituting, however, but one of various structural forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawing:

Fig. 1 is a partially fragmentary and partially sectional view of a locomotive boiler having incorporated therein a Siphon embodying the principal features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2--2 of Fi 1;

ig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3 but shows a. modification thereof.

As is above noted, this invention relates to a siphon which is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with locomotive boilers. Suiioient parts of such a boiler to adequately disclose this invention are seen in Fig. 1 and comprise a barrel 5, only the lower portion of which is shown, which has incorporated into the rear portion thereof a iirebox indicated generally at The rebox is provided with a crown sheet 3, a flue sheet 9 and a throat sheet |0. The barrel extends, as at I2, below this throat sheet and the space I3 therebetween is known as the throat or front water leg. Any number of fire tubes |5 open through the ue sheet 9 at the rear of the boiler and through a front ue sheet (not shown) at the front of the boiler wherefrom the ues are discharged by a suitable chimney. The Water level is preferably maintained above the crown' sheet so as to submerge the same and the ring tubes for preventing rusting and detrimental overheating. The sides of the rebox are bounded by re sheets which are spaced from the barrel so as to provide side water legs in communication with the throat.

The siphon per se will now be described in detail and is made up of three main parts, namely, two side sheets 20 and 2| and a neck 22. In making a Siphon according to this invention, the lower portion 25 of one of the side sheets thereof, such as the sheet 20, is bent so that the edge 30 of such portion is spaced from the body thereof. In finished form this lower portion, as is seen in Figs. 2 and 3, is arcuate for at least 90 or preferably or more. Thus the bend might be described as a U. Suitable staybolting 21 may be applied for maintaining said edge spaced from the body of such sheet.

suitably secured as bywelding 28 to the edge 30 is the bottom edge of the other side plate, in this case the sheet 2|, suitable staybolting 29 being provided for interconnecting the two sheets for maintaining them rigid and in parallel relationship in accordance with the spacing of the edge 30 and the body of the side sheet 20.

For securing the side plates 20 and 2| together at the front end of the siphon, means similar to that just described are employed. Thus the front edge y32 of the front portion 3| of the side sheet 20 is bent in a similar manner to the bottom portion 25 so as to dispose such edge similarly tol the bottom edge 30. Suitable staybolting 34 and 35, similar respectively to staybolting 2i and 29, may be utilized.

When this construction is employed, the portions 25 and 3| are rst bent and then the side sheets are welded together as at 28 and 36. It is to be noted that the side sheet 2| in the construction just described is triangular and fiat and results in a considerable saving in cutting the same to size.

Thus, two portions, namely the bottom and the front portions, oi one and the same sheet are bent so as to project above the same side of such sheet and the other sheet interconnects and is welded to the edges of such portions. Since both of the bends are in the same sheet and since the other sheet is fiat and unaffected by such bends, this construction results innot only increased strength' or rigidity but also in economy.

With reference now to the alternative construction shown in Fig. 4, it will be seen that the bottom portion and the front portion of the siphon need not be part of the same side sheet. For instance, one of such portions 40 may be part oi one of the side sheets such as 2| and the other of such portions 4I may be part of the other side sheet 2B. Suitable staybolting and welding may be employed in a manner similar to that above described, identical reference characters being employed for identiiication of identical elements in all gures. This construction has the advantage of there being but one bend in each of these side sheets whereas in Fig. 3 one of the side sheets has both bends and the other of the side sheets has no bend. For this reason the bends of the alternative construction may be made by bending devices which could 'notmake the bends of the preferred construction. It` will be understood that the forward or front and bottom. portions of each of the side sheets ymay be bent for substantially 90, the described 180 being purely illustrative.

For securing the neck 22 to the body of the Siphon the intersecting corner of the bottom and frontr of the side sheets is preferably formed for mating with the neck, the sheets and the neck lbeing suitably secured together asA by an annular, elliptical or other weld 45; Although it is not necessary, yet itis desirable as is clearly seen in Fig. 1, that the neck extends from and is in alignment with the bottom of the siphon.

As is above indicated, the Siphon is supplied with water from a conduit Which opens into the barrel of the boiler at a point in advance of the flue sheet. To this end the neck extends through a sleeve 4'! which is welded to and provides `a passageway through the throat or the front water leg. For interconnecting the neck and this conduit, the former is provided with a flange 49 which is provided with suitable means such as bolts for securing to said ilange a similar flange 5B on such conduit. This conduit forms no part of the present invention and` consequently will not bey described in detail, the same being identied generally by the reference character 55 and opening into the barrel of the boiler at the point 5S. A suitable baille plate '51 may be provided.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regardsv the structure herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In a locomotive boiler construction, the combination of a barrel-portion for retaining water; a rebox constructed and arranged relative to said barrel for at least partial submergence in a normal level of Water in said barrel; a siphon arranged Within said rebox comprising a pair of triangular sheets arranged in spaced relation, at least one of said sheets having formation-curves of approximately 186 adjacent the edge portions thereof to extend into conjunction with the edges of the other sheet, said sheets being welded together in this relationship; at least one of said sheets being truncated as to the corner defined by the joined sides, thereby constituting a discharge opening in a flattened, funnel-shaped body; a throat-tube connected to the body at said discharge opening, and extending beyond the rebox to a point of union with. the barrel-potrion adjacent its bottom; said siphon being further distinguishable by the fact that the formation-curves by which the sheets are connected are formed about substantially straight axes, and by the further fact that the welds for effecting conjunction of the sheets cccur at lines remote from the curved portions` per se.

2. The invention of claim l, in which one of said triangular sheets is larger than the other,

of the adjacent sheet; and each of said sheets being truncated an equal amount, at the corner dened by the convergence of the formed sides so as to constitute an elliptical opening for connection with the throat-tube.

4. The invention dened by claim l, including a plurality of stay-bolts passing through Athe siphon in substantially normal relation to the planes of the triangular sheets, certain of said stay-bolts extending between` opposed portions of the same sheet; other of said stay-bolts eX- tlndng between opposed portions of the two s ee s.

LEWIS SMITH. 

